Ella Verberne

Sydney

— April 20, 2017 —

Ella is a 22-year-old model from New Zealand who isn’t afraid to admit that she does “enjoy a bit of The Real Housewives.” Yes, girl, yes. Like all switched-on lovers of the show, she understands that you can learn a lot from the housewives, “in regards to how manipulative people can be and how to react in certain situations.” Quote that next time your mum/housemate/boyfriend dares to suggest you turn it off.

We shot her recently in Sydney’s Chinatown, where she sampled the legendary Emperor’s puffs for the first time and “got ambushed by a clown performer” while sussing all the underground food halls on offer. Classic. The sweet angel is originally from Auckland, and found that her “great childhood” there and “tight-knit family” has helped her to keep her chin up during the tough times, and to make wise decisions. One of those wise decisions was leaving school at age 16 and moving to New York to pursue modelling, with her mum by her side.

The social/cultural issue that is most important to her is racism, because “we are all equal, regardless of where we come from and what we look like — we are all humans and I can’t stand it when people mistreat others.” Her all-time spots to travel to are New York and Tokyo, and in particular the latter, because “the culture is unlike any other, [there’s] so much respect… plus there is always places to explore and the food is to die for!” Very true.